Octavian took the seat across from hers and then leaned forward. “Does it matter? I am here to listen to what you have to say. Is Syd your daughter or not?”
“Not.”
“Care to be more forthcoming? No one is ever going to believe you if this is all you will say.”
Octavian now leaned back in his chair and stretched his long legs before him. “You opened up this Pandora’s Box by threatening to reveal all to the gossip rags, Lady Harcourt. Your husband has prepared his defenses. It is a very good story, too. He will have thetonembracing him and declaring him a hero. Is this what you want?”
“He charms everyone,” she said with disdain. “What has he told you? That Syd was the daughter of his friend?” Her bitter laughter resounded through the room. “He is such a lying rat. The squire’s daughter washismistress, not Sutton’s. Then he has the gall to bring his own by-blow into our home. How could I ever accept her as my own? To look upon her every day and know he was unfaithful to me so early in our marriage.”
“How can you be sure he was lying to you?”
“Because this is what he does best. He lies and lies, and then he lies some more. Fool that I was, I agreed to his scheme so that I could be assured of remaining in London and going about in Society. But he had planned ahead and was already scheming to take control of the trust my family had established for any children of mine. Once we had presentedheras our daughter, there was no going back or else I would lose not only him, but my family. I was trapped, and that little girl had trapped me.”
“That little girl was a mere babe at the time and not to blame for anything you or Lord Harcourt did.” Octavian tried to stifle his anger, but it was hard to do when both Harcourts were so quick to deny responsibility for their own selfish actions. “Why are you so eager for your version of the truth to come out now? Other families will be hurt by it.”
“Why should I care about the mistress’s family? They are nothing but common gentry. They had already disowned their daughter for taking up with Harcourt and being so stupid as to get with child. I’m sure he’s told you the woman was Sutton’s beloved. Ha! Sutton merely played along because he wanted out of his own betrothal and hoped fabricating a scandal might have the desired effect. He hoped that his betrothed’s family would be furious and break it off.”
“Then Sutton died unexpectedly,” Octavian said, prodding her to continue.
“Yes, and then Harcourt’s beloved Miss Langley died in childbirth. So he brought the child home to me. Sutton’s father knew the harlot was Harcourt’s lover and not his son’s. The Langley’s knew their daughter had taken up with a married man– again, not Sutton who was not yet married. Harcourt could not unload the child, not even with all of his powers of persuasion.”
“The child, Syd, was blameless.”
“She was Harcourt’s and I’ve hated her from the moment he brought her into this house,” she said with enough venom to shock Octavian who was never easily shocked. “I would have beaten her every day, if I could. But Harcourt threatened to beat me if ever I laid a hand on her. If I starved her, then he would starve me. If I sent her away, then he would do the same to me. So I endured. And suffered. And encouraged that vile Sir Henry Maxwell to take her when I noticed his interest in her. I did not care if he married her or not.”
“You just wanted to see her hurt,” Octavian said, unable to hold down the bile rising in his throat.
He had never wished death on any man, but was relieved beyond measure to know Sir Henry was now dead and unable to get his brutal hands on Syd. As for this woman, she needed to be banished to some devil’s island where she would never be seen or heard from again.
She no longer maintained her genteel facade, so carried away was she in her quest to reveal the truth.
Her warped idea of the truth.
Octavian now saw the intensity of her hatred reflected in her eyes. He was glad Syd was not beside him and could be spared this wickedness. Not even he, with all his battle experience, was prepared for the extent of her hatred. Syd never stood a chance with this woman. “He plans to leave me. So I will see him and his bastard daughter destroyed.”
Octavian rose, for he had heard enough.
Even if everything she said about her husband and Catriona Langley was true, she had taken her rage beyond any bounds of reason.
He meant to escort Syd to Lady Withnall’s residence next. If anyone knew of the gossip circulating back then, she would. He would also hire Homer Barrow, the best Bow Street man in London, to dig deeper and ferret out to the truth. BothLady Withnall and Mr. Barrow could be counted on for their discretion.
One thing was for certain, Syd was not related in any way to Lady Harcourt. Whether she was Harcourt’s child or Sutton’s was yet to be determined. Octavian wanted the matter resolved before he and Syd had their own children. He wasn’t worried that Syd would become a mother from hell as Lady Harcourt had been. There was too much kindness in Syd for that. She would never blame a child or turn away from it because of circumstances out of that child’s control.
Nor was he ever going to be unfaithful to Syd and create such an impossible situation in his own home. If ever it happened– which was as likely as hell freezing over– but if it did ever happen, Syd would be the first to protect that child.
He shook off the unsavory thought of any dalliances, for he could not conceive of a situation where he would be unfaithful to her. He had not considered cheating on her before they had even entered into their make-believe marriage.
Now, their marriage was real.
If their nightly activities were any indication, they were probably already on their way to creating a family. It might take a month or two to be certain, but he would not be surprised if Syd was already with child.
Still too soon to tell, of course.
He struggled to contain his disgust as Lady Harcourt now rose to draw an end to their conversation.
His admiration for Syd only increased. He could not imagination what he would have become had his mother been like this witch standing before him. He was going to kiss Syd every moment he could. He was going to kiss her and tell her that he loved her until she grew fed up with him and smacked him over the head.
Octavian made his way to the Harcourt kitchen, hoping to keep his expression unreadable. He did not want Syd to see how shaken he was by his conversation with Lady Harcourt. He needn’t have worried. Her beaming smile the moment she caught sight of him had him grinning in response. “Love, it is time to go.”
